The
"Insanities of
Normality " are such
a pervasive, integral and
often essential part of our
lives and the world at large
that it is very difficult
recognising them. When we do, it
is usually because they are
far away or involve other
people rather than ourselves.
The ones we ourselves are
involved in and dependent upon
are virtually invisible to us.
When we do catch glimpses of
them, we use our large "prime-ape" brain
to rationalise and justify
them. Most relate to the continuing, blind, dumb-animal
(Darwinian) struggle for survival and
advantage in the "socio-economic environment",
which for modern man has effectively replaced the natural
environment, and thus also explains why it is
so difficult to see them for
what they are.

- Generally
putting the economy (the
household of man) before
ecology (the household of
our planet) with the
consequence that we are quite literally
plundering our planet, Spaceship
Earth. This, together with
the dominant role still played
by our more animal than
human nature, is the
underlying cause of virtually
all the insanities of
normality.

- Encouraging people
to have more
children, or permitting
(even encouraging) immigration, in order
to maintain or increase current population levels,
when we are already
very overpopulated. We should be
thankful that
a benevolent mother nature has
caused the birth rate
of native
Europeans naturally
to decline and make
the necessary socio-economic
changes to deal with it.

- Virtually all forms
of advertising, which
drives the materialistic
aspirations that our
non-sustainable,
growth-dependent economy
depends on, taking full
advantage of all aspects of
our animal nature, such as our
interest in sex, cheap or free
lunches, etc, etc.

- The lack of limits on
personal income and wealth.
The absurd differentials, even
within the same society, make
a mockery and hypocrisy of the
ideals of human equality and
citizen solidarity, as well as
being an absolute obstacle to
achieving sustainability. To
maintain that they are the
natural and acceptable consequence of a free-market
economy is a rationalisation
of the irrational and a
justification of the unjustifiable
by our large brains in the
service of our "more animal
than human " nature.

- Individual
motorisation (and its
promotion through advertising).
Because with less than one
fifth of Earth's population
fully motorised, it is already
placing a non-sustainable
drain and strain on its
limited resources and carrying
capacity.

- Frequent air travel,
its promotion through
advertising, and airport
expansion. For the same
reasons as
above.

- Economically
driven mass migration into
countries, such as Britain,
which are already overpopulated
(and should be rejoicing at
the natural decline in their
native populations) and where
large ethnic minorities are
likely to cause ethnic
conflict in years to come when
our present, non-sustainable
prosperity comes to an end;
and which also drains
developing countries of
trained (often highly trained)
and desperately needed
professionals, such as nurses
and doctors.

- Free trade as opposed
to fair trade (including the
exploitation of cheap labour,
which underlies much of the
global economy, but is a disgraceful act of
man exploiting his fellow man,
no matter how well it is
rationalised and justified as
helping those it exploits). It
is totally unworthy of
creatures calling themselves Homo
sapiens !

- The National Lottery
and other ways of winning very
large sums of money, which
appeals to and reinforces our
primitive, animal desire for,
and
acceptance of, free lunches (which
the excessively wealthy have always
had, of course). A society in which some
members have a right to free
or cheap lunches at the
expense of other members is a
society of apes, rather than of human
beings.

*
* * *
* * *
* * *

The supersonic
airliner, Concorde, is an
extremely important - because
still so contentious - example
of non-sustainable values,
attitudes and aspirations (see
Anglo-French folly)

Daily Telegraph, 28
Jan 06:
"German
women told: we need more
babies" (Nature tries to
help us by reducing the birth
rate on our overpopulated
continent, and what do we -
Idiots! - do? We try to
increase it, or encourage
immigration, both of which are
complete madness!

Guardian,
14 April 05: "Nike
publishes details of abuse at
Asian factories" (the
consequences of an economy
rooted in man's "more
animal than human "
nature, which would be unknown
in a moral, fair tradeeconomy
based on our more enlightened,
human nature).